India's Accused Gang Rapists Are Having a Tough Time Finding Lawyers

Police reports revealed today that the six men accused of the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student allegedly tried to run over over her after they raped and attacked her with an iron rod. That, on top of worldwide outrage, is making it really tough for these men to find legal representation. "We have decided that no lawyer will stand up to defend the rape accused as it would be immoral to defend the case," said Sanjay Kumar, a lawyer and a member of the Saket District Bar Council, told the AFP. The case is being tried in the Saket District in South New Delhi, and Kumar adds that 2,500 lawyers in the district have decided to, as Sanjay Kumar, a member of the Saket District Bar Council told the AFP, "stay away" from the case. There had been worldwide outrage and massive protests in India over the attack and death of the student. In short, these guys are so hated, that the government will have to appoint lawyers for them.

Police laid out a 1,000-pages of charges against the men in court, including the new detail that the attackers and the bus driver allegedly tried to run over the victim after they were through raping her and attacking her with an iron rod. "The woman and her friend were stripped and thrown out of the bus. Her friend pulled her away when he saw the bus reversing to run her over, the sources said," reports the Indian Express.According to the AFP, the friend pulling her to safety was her boyfriend—they were apparently both on the bus when the attack occurred. We had reported on Monday that the student, still unnamed by news outlets, was planning her wedding in February.

The men are facing charges of rape, kidnapping, and murder. There had been a suggestion to name India's new more stringent anti-rape laws which were created in response to this vicious attack, in honor of the unnamed student. The Indian government shot down that notion Wednesday.